Race With a Heart
Chapter 234: This Love is His Strength

Chapter 234: This Love is His Strength

The stairwell was quiet and empty. Good, no one would hear his conversation. Nevertheless, he will still have to carry it out quietly. Who knows when some witness will accidentally appear - a neighbor from upstairs or downstairs going out shopping or to work... These were not ideal conditions for a conversation with a blackmailer, but he had no choice. He didn’t make the rules of this game. Not yet.

"What do you want?" Paxton answered the phone without even trying to pretend to be polite. Courtesy was reserved for people he respected, not fucking blackmailers.

"Money, of course," came the not-so-surprising reply.

Steve knew the male voice from somewhere, but couldn’t identify it. All he knew was that it wasn’t any of the teenagers working with Martin. Nor, of course, was it Don Alston. There was something odd about the voice, though, although the driver couldn’t identify what it was.

"You know you’re not the first person to want money from me?" Paxton smiled like a mischievous cat. The caller couldn’t see his face, but he certainly sensed the tone of his voice. "Ask me what happened to that person. Well, ask, don’t be shy."

A tense silence answered him. Then, with feigned confidence, the question was asked:

"What happened to that person?"

"Dead," briefly replied Steve in a rather light tone. "You know, the police even had me as a suspect for a while. Just for a while. Because, you see, the world is full of desperate people who can kill for a simple cell phone."

Once again, he was answered by silence. The person who wanted to blackmail him was definitely not a professional, because such a person wouldn’t be frightened by such a faint threat. A professional would not let him take the initiative. He would be the one making the threat, effectively.

"I don’t like blackmailers," hissed Steve. "They disgust me. They seem to think they can exploit the weakness of others, but you know what, what connects me and him is not my weakness. It is my strength. So if you want to make a sensation out of it, go ahead, just be aware of the consequences."

"Are you really not afraid? Aren’t you worried about him? His career is just rising. Such a scandal with an older colleague could destroy him forever." Something in the man’s voice was familiarly wrong. Now Steve heard it a little more clearly. But what could it have been? How did he utter some letters? An accent?

An accent!

"If what we have together was going to hurt him, I would have cut off all contact with him, August."

The connection was abruptly cut off. Paxton squirmed with disdain. When he uttered the name, he was unsure. It was a shot, nothing more; the shot, however, proved remarkably accurate. It is said that opportunity makes the thief, and he himself provoked the opportunity. Steve was simply a foolish idiot.

Now he will have to correct this mistake. He will talk to August face to face and clearly tell him to fuck off from Martin. But he will also have to speak to Martin. Maybe they don’t have to declare to the whole world that they are together, but his boyfriend should at least tell his family about their relationship. Now, however, they won’t have time for that. After all, today they are leaving for another race.

Steve had just put his hand on the door handle when his cellphone rang again. Was it August who got the courage? No, it was Karl. Paxton furrowed his brow. Why is he calling at this hour? After all, they’ll be seeing each other in about an hour. Has something happened?

"Karl...?" he answered.

"Steve, trouble. Jack can’t take part in the race. I spoke to him just now."

Walton’s voice was full of tension. It wasn’t the voice of someone who is pissed off at an undisciplined driver who is putting up a fuss (by the way, Jack would never do something like that). It was the voice of someone who is genuinely concerned about something. Paxton felt a shiver run down his spine.

"Karl, what’s wrong?"

"Nothing you need to worry about. Just focus on the race..."

"Karl!"

He was answered by three seconds of silence and then:

"It’s a secret, but Michael Moore is in the hospital. It’s something serious. Very serious. Do you know that Jack has close contacts with this family?"

"Yes," especially with Michael’s son, he thought. Sure, if someone in Martin’s family was suddenly seriously ill, Steve wouldn’t want to leave him alone either. "I’ll call him and..."

"Focus on the race, please," Walton insisted. "Jack doesn’t have a head for any phone calls anyway."

"Who, then, will ride in the race instead of him?" Paxton was just crossing the threshold of his lover’s apartment.

"What do you mean who? Martin."

Paxton’s heart leapt as if someone had zapped it with electricity. Could it be that his dream was coming true and the two men were about to face each other in a real race? Could there have been anything more exciting at that moment?

It could, because Martin just sat on the bed dragging and since he wasn’t wearing a shirt, Steve could clearly see his slim but buoyant arms and appealing torso adorned with two hard, pink nipples.

Martin finished dragging himself and sleepily looked lazily at the entering Paxton.

"Have you told him yet?" asked Steve still remembering that he was talking to Walton.

"Not yet."

"Can I tell him about it?"

"You sound like you’re getting the Christmas present of your dreams," remarked Karl. "All right, do it, but for God’s sake, spare his ass. This boy is supposed to ride the entire race in our colors. And he’s supposed to do it from a good starting position."

"All right, all right," agreed Steve, and just like that he ended the call. He had no more time for Karl. He smiled broadly and, without a word, climbed onto the bed to capture his beloved’s mouth.

"Um... umh..." muttered a sleepy Martin returning the kiss. He threw his arms around Steve’s neck and, fighting a delightful battle of tongues, pulled him against him. When his back touched the bed sheets their lips parted, he asked quietly. "Did something good happen?"

"Ummm..." murmured Paxton finding his lover’s lips anew. "For me -very much. In the next race my dream will come true."

"What dream?" Martin was too curious to indulge in a mere kiss. "Steve, first say, then kiss!"

"We’ll ride together!"

Paxton didn’t expect that after hearing such good news his lover might unceremoniously push him away, but he did. Disgruntled, he looked into Martin’s eyes and saw concern in them.

"What about Jack?"

Steve felt uneasy.

"Why are you asking about another man when I’m the one kissing you?"

"Because he was the one who was supposed to go. Steve, this is important!"

"Kevin’s father got sick. Apparently it’s something serious, so Jack will stay with him. After all, he’s his father-in-law, sort of, no?"

"Michael Moore is sick?"

"What are you so concerned about? You don’t know the guy."

"But it’s Jack’s family, sort of..."

"That’s why he’s the one who’s concerned. Yes, it is sad, but people get sick. That doesn’t mean the whole world should stop during this time. The race won’t be canceled, and we have to do everything to make our stable perform as well as possible. Do I really have to explain this to you?"

Steve was disappointed. It wasn’t fair that the guy he loved and had just kissed was worried about some stranger.

"I know, I know... but this is Jack. If it weren’t for him, we wouldn’t be together."

"What?"

Martin blushed and shyly lowered his gaze. Damn, he was so unbelievably attracted to him at that moment that Paxton had trouble controlling himself not to lash out at him, but he really wanted to know the answer.